Conus mercator

Conus mercator, common name the trader cone, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.^[2]

Conus mercator
Conus mercator Linnaeus, 1758
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Neogastropoda
Superfamily:	Conoidea
Family:	Conidae
Genus:	Conus
Species:	C. mercator
Binomial name
Conus mercator Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms[2]
Conus (Lautoconus) cacao Ferrario, 1983 Conus (Lautoconus) fernandi (Petuch & Berschauer, 2018) Conus (Lautoconus) lamarckii Kiener, 1847 Conus (Lautoconus) mercator Linnaeus, 1758 · accepted, alternate representation Conus (Lautoconus) orri Ninomiya & da Motta, 1982 Conus cacao Ferrario, 1983 Conus dealbatus A. Adams, 1855 (nomen dubium) Conus lamarckii Kiener, 1845 Conus orri da Motta, 1982 Conus reticularis Bory de Saint Vincent, 1827 Conus senegalensis (Gulden, Moolenbeek & Goud, 2017) Cucullus aurelius Röding, 1798 Lautoconus (Lautoconus) stimpsonorum Cossignani & Allary, 2019 Lautoconus cacao (Ferrario, 1983) Lautoconus fernandi Petuch & Berschauer, 2018 Lautoconus gambiensis Petuch & Berschauer, 2018 Lautoconus lamarckii (Kiener, 1847) Lautoconus mercator (Linnaeus, 1758) Lautoconus orri (Ninomiya & da Motta, 1982) Lautoconus rikae Petuch & Berschauer, 2018 (original combination) Lautoconus senegalensis Gulden, Moolenbeek & Goud, 2017 Lautoconus stimpsonorum Cossignani & Allary, 2019 (original combination) Varioconus mercator (Linnaeus, 1758)· accepted, alternate representation

Like all species within the genus Conus, these snails are predatory and venomous. They are capable of stinging humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or not at all.

Description

The size of the shell varies between 20 mm and 55 mm. The shell is yellowish or ash-gray, often faintly longitudinally lined with chestnut, with a broad band at the shoulder and a narrower one at the middle, of white closely reticulated with chestnut.^[3]

Distribution

This species occurs in the Atlantic Ocean off Senegal.